July 11, 2008
University of New Mexico golfer Jodi Ewart did all she could to help her native country, but in the end it was the Netherlands upsetting No. 1 seed England 4-3 in the semifinals of the European Ladies’ Amateur Team Championship at the Stenungsunds Golf Club (par 72, 6,125 yards) in Sweden. The Netherlands was the No. 4 seed.
The match was all square before Marieke Nivard beat Rachel Jennings on the 19th hole to push the Dutch into Saturday’s championship match against host Sweden.
In a foursome match, Ewart and teammate Naomi Edwards defeated Nivard and Kyra Van Leeuwen on the 20th hole. Ewart then beat Van Leeuwen 4 and 3 in singles.
England now meets Spain Saturday for third place. The Spaniards, seeded No. 2, were also upset in the semifinals, by Sweden. Live scoring is available at http://www.golfdata.se/live/match_lag.asp?Lang=ENG&tk=AN0828X&tour=AN.
Spain is led by Azahara Munoz, who plays at Arizona State, and won the individual title at the 2008 NCAA Championships in Albuquerque. Belem Mozo (Southern Cal) and Maria Hernandez (Purdue) also play for the Spanish team.
Ewart is the two-time defending Mountain West Conference individual champion. She was an honorable mention All-American by Golfweek in 2008 after being named a second team selection in 2007. The 2008 Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Year finished the 2007-08 season with a 74.41 scoring average.